The present invention more particularly relates to portable doorstops that can be placed between a door and a doorjamb, whereby the door remains open.
People use and have used different mechanisms to prop doors open. Some doorstops are permanently attached to floors or walls. Other doorstops are portable. One portable doorstop is the commonly known wedge shaped doorstop. Another portable doorstop is shown in Payette in U.S. Pat. No. 5,547,238, issued Aug. 20, 1996. These portable doorstops will be discussed below.
The wedge shaped doorstop has a flat surface that is placed on the floor and an inclined surface that is placed against the bottom surface of a door. The wedge shaped doorstop is generally placed at the portion of the door that is not hinged to the doorjamb. The design, while simple, has inherent problems. One problem with the wedge shaped doorstop is that it may easily be overturned in which condition it will no longer hold the door open.. People or objects unintentionally push, pull and bump the doorstop causing it to overturn or be pushed out of position. Another problem with the wedge shaped doorstop is that this doorstop must create enough friction between the floor and itself to prevent the doorstop from slipping out of position on its own. As the doorstop, usually made of rubber, ages, it loses its ability to generate the appropriate amount of friction and the stop, even in good repair, does not generate sufficient friction on all floors. Further, the doorstop may become disfunctional when being used with heavy doors or doors with a strong closer. When the doorstop is out of its proper position, the door will shut.
The doorstop described by Payette is a circular disk. The upper portion of the circular disk is conical in shape. This doorstop is placed towards the open portion of the door (i.e., away from the hinges on the door). The conical shape of this doorstop allows for the possibility that the door may be bumped out of position. The conical shape also allows for the possibility that if the doorstop is not placed properly near the door, the door will slide down the incline and close. Payette""s stop has other problems similar to those outlined above with regard to the wedge shaped door stop.
Both the wedge-shaped doorstop and Payette""s doorstop are placed generally near the unhinged portion of the door and are not as well secured between the elements found in the vacinity of a door. The choice of interactive componants, e.g., door, floor and stop, lead to many of the problems inherent in the design. When the stop is not functioning properly, the door closes to the dissatisfaction of the user.
What is needed is a door stop which does not unintentionally become easily dislodged, bumped, pushed or pulled out of position. The stop should work regardless of the flooring about the door and should work with all doors.
The present invention is a doorstop designed to be placed in the hinged area between a door and associated jam. The door stop includes a door jamb engaging portion, a door engaging portion and a movement control portion. These are preferably homogenous portions of a single piece.
The door jamb engaging portion may be a relatively flat edge that braces against the door jamb. Preferably, it has an inset designed to fit about the wood strip found on the interior face of a doorjamb such that the doorjamb engaging portion lies flat against the interior face of the door jamb. Padding may be placed on all or a portion of the door engaging portion if desired.
The door engaging portion defines an expanse in which the hinged edge of the door is captured. An edge defining the expense preferably has a stair-step shape allowing the stop to be used with different sized doors. The opposing edge may be stair stepped, although it is preferably flat and the distance between the two edges may range from one to two inches or more if desired.
The movement control portion provides bracing between the door jamb engaging portion and the door engaging portion, keeping the two portions apart at a predetermined distance. The movement control portion may be homogenous with the door jamb engaging portion and the door engaging portion.
The door stop is placed between a door and associated door jamb. The door is fitted into an expanse defined in the door engaging portion. The door jamb engaging portion is rested against the door jamb. Material, such as the movement control portion, maintains the distance between the door engaging portion and the doorjamb engaging portion. With the door stop in place, the door is released, trapping the doorstop in the appropriate location to hold the door open.
In accordance with the present invention, a doorstop device comprises a door engaging mechanism and a doorjamb engaging mechanism.
The present invention is placed between the door and the doorjamb.
The present invention fits in between the door and the doorjamb by mechanical structure.